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( How to get your Poodle like this)
These are three words which can be linked to the
poodle quite successfully; if the correct methods of bonding
and training are applied. Poodles are really people in dogs
and because of this they require company, respect, patience
at times, their own space at times and guidance in order to
extract the required response.
Poodles by nature are usually quite “bouncy” types
of dogs. They like to show their emotions. It could be a
yap, bark, a cheeky look out of the corner of the eye, an
unexpected spring into the air or a full on stare and yawn
whilst looking you directly in the eye. This is what makes
moulding your poodle something special; keeping and
controlling these “poodley” traits (it’s personality) and
harnessing them to be of benefit.
Poodles by design are a “pretty” elegant, agile
and intelligent type of a dog. Their origins come from
retrieving ducks out of swampy, cold boggy terrain; hence
the modified haircut, the ribbons in the hair, the webbed
feet for swimming, the top-knot and docked tail. To be a
good retriever, the dog needs to be able to think and to
work out the best way to get the bird; hence the brains.
I have had the pleasure of owning, showing and
trialing a silver female miniature poodle; Nicky
(Aust. Champion Adeltoy Nicollette UD ET ADM) born 30.05.91
and a black female standard poodle; Zoe (Aust.
Champion Adeltoy Smashing Zoe CD ADX ET) born 30.12.92. Zoe
currently has two qualifying in her second obedience title (CDX)
and has three qualifying times in her Agility Masters title
(ADM). Nicky has had the honuor of representing Queensland
in the National Agility Challenge Team Event on two
occasions. She is the first and only small dog (i.e. < 380
mm at the shoulder) to attain its Agility Masters Title in
Queensland.
These dogs have achieved these feats through
setting goals and progressively working towards them; being
able to know and read your dog. Fair and just treatment goes
a long way when you’re training your poodle. Harsh, unjust
and erratic treatment does nothing to getting your dog to
work efficiently and happily for you. This sort of treatment
of working your dog in fear mode is not only dangerous ( as
it can turn your dog from fear into attack mode) but it
takes the fun out training with your companion and also the
fun out of your dog. If you’re lucky you’ll get an
unanimated dog going through it’s paces, tail down and
showing definite cringing characteristics whenever you or
someone else returns to it or approaches it. Poodles really
telegraph their emotions. When they’re happy……they’re
happy; but when they’re unhappy, a pathetic image
appears - a scene of an overbearing handler inflicting stern
and harsh control over this poor defenceless dog. That’s not
what you are trying to achieve !
Be patient, fair, stern at times and above all be
consistent. (Consistent in your approach to training.
Consistent in your commands and signals. Consistent with
your boundaries for praise and discipline.) If this is
adopted and steadily implemented, then your dog will gain a
knowledge of what it needs to do to stay with-in the safety
zone. Being consistent is extremely important, but being
totally consistent with doing the same exercises, staying
away for the same amount of time etc. can create a very
difficult problem to rectify; i.e. the problem of
anticipation. They’re very intelligent and it doesn’t take
them long to work out what is supposed to come next. This is
why; once the initial training of the exercise is completed,
some variation should be progressively introduced to your
training content but not to your approach to training,
commands and signals or to the dog’s working boundaries.
Variation keeps the dog’s interest high and teaches the dog
to focus on the handler. Varying the order of the exercises,
combining exercises, introducing distraction, noises etc.
can also enhance the dog’s ability to work. Varying the time
of praise increases it’s hunger to please. Always reward
any break through which your dog has made, any exceptional
performance and occasionally just give the dog some praise
as a confidence booster.
It’s all about finding the balance to achieve a
solid foundation. Don’t rush through the early training or
move onto the more advanced exercises without getting the
basics correct first. Work from the known to the unknown and
incrementally teach the exercise. If this is followed, then
your poodle will know where it fits with-in the family, what
it can do, where it is allowed to go, when it is work mode,
when it is free time etc. You set these parameters and stick
to them. Poodles will try to stretch the boundaries; so be
adamant in your decision if you don’t want to change any of
the parameters.
Using these tactics your poodle will become an
asset to your family, a loyal and faithful companion, a good
working dog when required and a family member when not
working.
Poodles have an inbuilt elegance and beauty about
them. With a background in retrieving they also get a very
useful confirmation for jumping, climbing, weaving, running,
gaiting etc. and the brains to implement some quite
difficult things.
Poodles are agile with the brains to match their
elegant looks.
Bruce Nobbs - Poodle Owner.
You’re welcome to contact myself on (07) 32940852 to discuss
any points in this article or just to talk poodles / their
problems in general.
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1. Select the exercise!
2. Is it complicated? Some exercises are quite
complex and are made up of several conditioned responses
e.g. the recall. It can be broken down into the following
mini responses: sit, heel off, sit, leave and stay, call and
come, sit and return to heel with a sit.
3. Can the exercise be linked to any previous training?
If exercises can be linked logically together then the
training of the exercise will tend to go more smoothly.
Dogs; like humans feel more comfortable learning and
progressively learning from known to unknown e.g. teaching
the stand for examination; the dog must be able to stand
freely unaided with handler beside and also in front of the
dog without signs of panic. It should also know “stay” and
be able to do a sit for examination.
4. Does the exercise require pre-training? Some
exercises might be totally different to what the dog has
been used to doing or bred for. A border collie, for
instance, was bred for herding animals not retrieving
things. Yet, with the correct pre-training these dogs can
retrieve with the same zest as a gun dog. Pre-training is
important when there isn’t any link to the previous
exercise. An example of this is when you’re teaching your
dog scent exercises in Utility exercises. Will your dog pick
up a metal object for instance? Pre-training for this part
of the exercise is similar to the initial dumbbell training
where the dog’s mouth is opened to receive the metal
object. As the dog becomes familiar with the object then
the object can be thrown or placed short distances in front
of the dog and be retrieved like a dumbbell. The
pre-training is as the word suggests; training which won’t
actually be as the exercise is run when at trialling level.
It is used to familiarise the dog with the new object and
also to build a stable foundation for the exercise.
5. What does the dog know already? Knowing what the
dog will do and won’t do also gives the handler a starting
point to work from. If the dog loves to pick things up and
naturally carries things around in its mouth; then the
retrieving pre-training could possibly be ignored.
6. Is the exercise a control exercise or an action
oriented exercise? Again “control” means suppressing the
dog’s natural urge to do what it wants to do. It might mean
suppressing the dog’s fear of being dominated e.g. Stand for
Examination. The dog’s natural instinct is to take flight.
These exercises require building stability into the dog’s
nature and increasing its tolerance to outside
distractions. Action oriented exercises require harnessing
the dog’s natural instincts and adapting them to the
exercise e.g. using the dog’s prey drive to chase and fetch
a dumbbell.
7. Have you got the necessary equipment? Some
exercises may require specialised equipment e.g. doing the
broad jump in open, a broad jump is needed; however a low
bar jump or solid jump could be used in the initial stages
whilst the dog is still doing the exercise on lead.
Improvise where ever practicable and only if it doesn’t
affect the overall outcome of the exercise.
8. Can the exercise be taught by yourself or does it
require assistance from another person? The majority of
exercises can be quite successfully trained by yourself;
however ring familiarisation is recommended for all
trialling members. Several of the Utility exercises will
require a helper to give the exercise continuity and to
limit inducing secondary extra commands and movements.
Exercises like Scent Discrimination, Directed Retrieve and
Food Refusal; it is advisable to use a helper when teaching
these exercises.
9. Has the dog or handler got any limitations which
might hinder the exercise being completed successfully?
Some defects in the dog could prevent it doing the exercise.
If a dog has very poor eye sight then this would make the
Signals Exercise in Utility practically impossible to do
successfully. Also if the handler had some major handicap or
illness this would also made it difficult to do some of the
advanced exercises.
These are some issues and suggestions which need
to be considered when training at advanced levels of
obedience. If you take it logically, calmly and don’t put
unreal time limits on completing the training for the
exercise; then with a little luck the exercise training will
be successful.
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The following article will discuss the basic
requirements, equipment and training to successfully
complete an Endurance Test.
What are the requirements of the test? The test requires
the dog and handler to average 10 k.p.h. for 20 km and to
do this over varying surfaces in a total test time of 2
hours and 35 minutes (including vet checks and compulsory
rest periods). After the test there is also a very short
basic obedience test.
What equipment does one need? A pedigreed dog between 2yrs
and 7yrs of age, not in season or in whelp; a lead up to 2m
is recommended; a fixed collar or harness; a push bike
preferably with a speedometer or a good comfortable pair of
jogging shoes; a set of C.C.C. rules on the Endurance Test;
a handler who is a current member of the C.C.C. or similar
interstate controlling body and lastly a fitness certificate
from the vet within 2 weeks prior to completing the E.T.
What training requirements are there and what are some of
the things to look out for? The training schedule will vary
according to the current work load of the dog. I found that
the training had to be progressive; i.e. working from easy
to more difficult, from slow runs to faster times, from
short distances on hard terrain to longer ones. My initial
training consisted of only 1 to 2km runs at 10 k.p.h. (This
was also because of the extreme temperatures of last
Summer.) As the weather became cooler and both the dogs and
the handlers fitness improved; then the distances and
terrain was increased. Most of the training was done on
bitumen and concrete so as to toughen the dogs pads up. It’s
also easier riding for the handler. The distances were
progressively built up over the months prior to completing
the E.T. (from 3km to 5/6km and then finally to 8/10km.) The
frequency remained reasonably constant 3 to 4 times per
week. If your dog is handling this work load and the dog’s
disposition and is physically holding up then I believe it
is fit enough to attempt a full “mock” E.T. We did two
“mock” E.T.s in our final lead up training.
Because the test is run on varying surfaces it is
important to keep a close eye on your dog’s feet. I will
just elaborate on that. Nicky; my 7yr old mini poodle who’s
only 300mm at the shoulder and weighs in at 9kg; did show
some pigment loss in the centres of the pads but they were
still fine and very tough. Nicky can only show gait to
8k.p.h. so to maintain 10 k.p.h. or better meant that she
had to “bunny-hop” which created an accentuated pad contact
with the surface in which she was running on. Nicky had to
do 3 times the leg rate and contacts than my standard poodle
had to do. Zoe; my standard poodle is 5½yrs of age and is
600mm at the shoulder and weighs in at 28kg. Zoe on the
other hand had no problems show gaiting at 10 k.p.h. in fact
she is still in show gait at 20 k.p.h. Zoë's pads were fine
and showed no signs of wear. It was in between the toes
where I noticed some rubbing and calluses forming. This was
caused from longish toe nails rubbing on the side of the
toe. This was easily fixed up by shortening the toe nails
and letting the hair on the feet grow for 4 weeks prior to
doing the test.
The other thing which is important is keeping your
training schedule on track. Once the dog is fit; then
simply maintain it. Don’t train your dog into the ground.
Keep your training progressive and positive. If the dog is
pulling out in front; that’s OK. If the dog is being
dragged; that’s not. The dog needs to be encouraged up. Keep
encouraging and talking to your dog when you’re doing the
training sessions.
Needless to say you will need to keep an eye on
the dog; they can’t talk but they will still give you
signals if something is wrong. I didn’t take temperatures
or heart rates when I trained. I figured that if the dog
still wanted to play “chasey” after training rates of
15/16k.p.h. and a length of 8km plus; then there wasn’t too
much wrong with them.
The Endurance Test is quite easy if you’ve done
adequate preparation for yourself and your dog/s. Yes you
are allowed to run 2 dogs at the same time; either in brace
or on separate leads. All in all we did around about 500km
of training over a 6 month period. This excluded my personal
fitness training on the exercise bike during the hotter
Summer months. Both of the dogs actually became heavier with
Zoë putting on almost 2kg and Nicky about .5kg not that she
needed that.
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The Endurance Test The test itself has to be run at a venue
where there are varying types of surfaces available e.g.
grass, bitumen, gravel and concrete. Each group of dogs and
handlers are given numbers or numbered bibs and when
competing in the test must stay in catalogue order. In each
test group there is a pacesetter with a calibrated and
checked speedometer, a judge and an official time-keeper.
(If there are more than one group then these officials will
be allocated for each group.) As the pace-setter moves off,
then the competitors follow in single file at about 2m
spacing. (If you breakdown or your dog has to toilet then
you must pull out of the line and either fix it up or
clean it up; then catch up and return to your original
position.) This could mean travelling at rates of up to
20k.p.h. for a short distance. Again, if you and your dog
have done the work; then it shouldn’t be a problem.
The Test is in 4 sections with 5 vet checks
(temperatures, heart rates and general health including pad
checks). Each dog has all results and observations recorded.
1. Initial vet check with the dog in a rested state.
2. 8km run on at least 2 surfaces with a 15 minute
tethered rest period where the owner can care for the dog’s
fluid needs etc. and the dog is vet checked
3. 6km run on at least 2 surfaces with a 20 minute
tethered rest period where the dog is cared for and vet
checked as above.
4. 6km run on at least 2 surfaces with a 15 minute rest
period where the dog is allowed to move around and it is vet
checked and can be cared for as above
5. Short obedience work out just to show if the dog is
willing to work not to be judged as an obedience exercise.
If you’re successful then the title of E.T. can be
applied for from the C.C.C. and the letters E.T. are added
to the dog’s pedigree after it’s name.
Taken and used in the correct manner, this can be
a good tool to be used for other fields of obedience,
tracking, agility and even showing. If your dog is fit and
motivated then it will actually want to work and do more
things.
If there are any comments or queries regarding E.T.
training etc. don’t hesitate to contact myself on (07)
32822724.
Bruce Nobbs
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